EVALUATION OF U.S. SPEAKER ON SOCIAL INCLUSION AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001833

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IIP/T/SV (CAPONTE); IIP/G/WHA (JMANES; CBARONE);
WHA/PDA (OHILTON)
EMBASSIES FOR PAO/CAO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO HO
SUBJECT: EVALUATION OF U.S. SPEAKER ON SOCIAL INCLUSION AND
MULTICULTURALISM: RICARDO RENE LAREMONT, TRACKER #18034

REF: Tegucigalpa 143

SUMMARY: Dr. Ricardo Rene Laremont, Chair, Department of
Sociology, State University of New York at Binghamton,
lectured on Social Inclusion and Multiculturalism to six
separate audiences in three cities in Honduras July 21-25,

2003. His presentations ranged on topics such as the Harlem
Renaissance, the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in
transforming society, affirmative action, legal practices in
support of social inclusion and the creation of a culture of
non-violence. The program was covered by the national
medial. END SUMMARY.

A) Description of the Activity: Dr. Rene Laremont conducted
a successful four-day speaker program in Honduras giving
presentations showing by specific, concrete examples how
civil society in the U.S. brought about social change, the
important role artists play in a country's development, the
fact that access to power comes through education, and how
the U.S. legal system has helped transform society. Dr.
Laremont also participated in a TV talk show, gave several
radio interviews, and was guest of honor at a small lunch
hosted by the APAO with columnist.

B) Date: July 21-25, 2003
Fiscal year: FY-03, Third Quarter

C) Justification and Objective: To keep audiences focused on
the importance of listening to communities carefully in
developing programs of poverty reduction. In societies like
Honduras where 80 percent live in poverty, Laremont stressed
the importance of civil rights, the role of civil society in
strengthening democracy, and racial and ethnic diversity.

D) Tracker No. 18034; MPP Goals: MPP Theme: Democracy; Human
Rights, and Mutual Understanding.
Audience reached: Approximately 1,200 participants at six
different conference venues, including representatives of
the civil society and Garifuna NGOs; academic and cultural
contacts; members of the Honduran Bar Association; students
and professors from the law school at the National
Autonomous University of Honduras; high school students and
teachers; members of the media and general public. Dr.
Laremont's appearance on an early morning TV program with
nationwide audience and impromptu radio interviews reached
hundreds of thousands more.

E) Result/Impact: Excellent.

The post fully met its objectives for this program. Dr.
Laremont informed national audiences on how the U.S. deals
with religious, racial and ethnic minorities in a
multicultural society and the importance of community
participation in public policies. Dr. Laremont spoke from
his numerous investigations and own experience on how
citizen participation leads to the transformation of
society. The post had originally requested the speaker
program to commemorate African-American Heritage Month, but
postponed it to accommodate to Dr. Laremont's schedule. In
the meantime, we successfully programmed U.S. filmmaker
Dennis Watlington for African-American Heritage Month.

On the afternoon of his arrival in Tegucigalpa, Ambassador
Larry Palmer and the DCM briefed Dr. Laremont on the
political and social conditions in Honduras. That evening
at the National Art Gallery, he initiated his series of
programs participating in the roundtable discussion "The
Voice of the Excluded: Harlem, New York: A Case." He
discussed how the Afro-CUBAn movement and the Harlem
Renaissance blended in America. He emphasized the
importance artists play in forming a national identity and
their role as political activists. The program also
featured Dr. Tulio Mariano Gonzalez, Vice President of the
National Development Bank and Garifuna leader, and Dr.
Gloria Lara, cultural anthropologist and former Fulbright
grantee, as panelists. The IRC director prepared a
PowerPoint presentation with audio featuring renowned
players of the Harlem Renaissance.

The following day, Dr. Laremont participated in the early
morning national TV program "Frente a Frente" where he
discussed the role civil society plays in protecting civil
rights and how the U.S. has promoted an inclusive society.
The other invited guest was Dr. Ramon Romero, civil society
advisor to Honduran President Maduro.

On his second program day, Dr. Laremont spoke to a group of
students and professors of the law school at the National
Autonomous University of Honduras on how the U.S. Supreme
Court has dealt with issues of race and class in the 19th
and 20th centuries. He expanded on how the social demands
of the time lead to changes, including new anti-terrorism
laws in the U.S. That evening, he addressed members of the
Honduran Bar Association on this topic and referred to
specific cases where the Supreme Court has been sensible to
political pressure. CG John Jones also participated and
invited the Honduran lawyers to take action and see that the
law protects all Hondurans not just the wealthy and pointed
to the difference between "immunity" and "impunity."

The following day, Dr. Laremont spoke on "Social Inclusion
and Legal Structures: Multiculturalism" at a conference co-
sponsored by the UNDP's "Forum for the Strengthening of
Democracy." He discussed how nationalism is easy in a
homogenous society but difficult in countries with different
ethnic groups and how one can contribute to unite a society.
He said nationalism doesn't have anything to do with the
economy and that lack of resources is not an excuse to not
work towards democracy. He also spoke on the issue of
voluntary and involuntary migration and how America became a
diverse society.

That afternoon, Dr. Laremont traveled to La Ceiba on the
north coast for a program co-sponsored by ODECO, an NGO
working on the development and empowerment of the Honduran
Garifuna community. Dr. Laremont met with a group of elders
at the Garifuna community of Corozal where they discussed
land-titling problems. In the evening, he adapted his
standard presentation to an audience of high school
students, representatives from the Garifuna community and
civil society leaders. He emphasized the need to organize
communities for any movement to be successful.

The last leg of the program was in San Pedro Sula, Honduras'
second largest city and industrial capital, where he was
guest of honor at a luncheon hosted by the APAO with media
columnists. In the evening, he gave his presentation on the
Afro-CUBAn movement and the Harlem Renaissance in the nearby
city of El Progreso. This program enabled the post to co-
sponsor an event for the first time with the Cultural
Foundation of El Progreso.

Throughout his program, Dr. Laremont addressed the issues of
the role of the civil rights movement in changing laws and
practices in the U.S. and how the U.S. became a
multicultural society; how education contributes to build a
more equalitarian society; how societies can move from
inclusive practices to exclusive societies; and how Mohandas
Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully employed non-
violent means to achieve their goals to make social changes.

The post highly recommends Dr. Laremont for future programs.
An expert in his field, he invariably adapted his
presentations to his audience. His warm personality, fluent
Spanish, familiarity with the multi-ethnic communities in
the region enabled him to discuss a wide range of topics
with his audiences.

F) Non-USG Sources of In-country Funding/In-kind Support and
Amount: Some of the host institutions provided venues free
of charge.

G) Quality of U.S. Support and IIP Offices Involved:
Excellent. Post would like to thank IIP/T/SV Carmen Aponte
for proposing Dr. Laremont, who proved to be just the right
person to meet our program objectives.

Palmer